The Slooper Monument Project - SLOOPER LINKS

Endorsements

Maps

Photos

Slooper Links

- We Did It! -

 

INTERNET LINKS

.

"The Sloopers - pioneers in Norwegian emigration" page on Solem, Swiggum & Austheim's "100 Years of Emigrant Ships from Norway" web site.  An excellent Slooper site that gives a concise overview of the Slooper story and its place in history, plus a list of passengers from Rosdail's Slooper book.

 

NEW "Slooperman Jacob Anderson Slogvik" by Peggy Wheeler, published in Vestlandet, Vol. 100, Winter 2004, pp. 8-9, Austin, MN, a publication of Vestlandslag.

 

"Celebrating the Slooper Voyage, Norway to Kendall" by William G. Andrews, President of Grieg/Odin Lodge of the Sons of Norway, Rochester, New York. Excellent concise article written as part of 175 year "Commemoration of the Sloopers" in Kendall, New York, October 2000.

 

Norwegian Sloopers of 1825 by Georgia Adkins, a Minnesota Slooper.  An excellent 2-part article that appeared in the Vestlandet, Vol. 86, Summer, 2000, pp. 1-2, and Vol. 87, Fall, 2000, pp. 1-3.  Vestlandet is a publication of Vestlandslag, Austin, MN.

.

Exclusive: English translation of History of Early Quaker activity in Tysvær kommune - from Svein Ivar Langhelle's Tysvær 9. Slik levde dei ("Such as They Lived," local history, vol. 9) published in 1997, pp. 178-189, translated by Rotraud Slogvik with help from Peggy & Keith Wheeler. Information is given here not only about the general religious climate in the Tysvær area prior to the 1825 emigration to America, but specific information is given about Jakob Anderson Slogvik's relatives and early neighbors.

"The Sloop Restaurationen" - an excerpt from the old hard to find book by Rasmus B.Anderson entitled Norwegian Immigration 1821-1840 published in 1895. A account by an early Norwegian-American immigration historian of the voyage of the sloop and the role played by the advance scout Cleng Peerson

The Norwegian Emigration Center of Stavanger, Norway, provides several web pages devoted to emigration history.  The Center provides information on 2 prominent on-going exhibitions in Rogaland fylke, "the famous Promise of America exhibition, located at the Tysvær Cultural House, and People on the Move, which is a permanent exhibition at the Center."

From "The Promise of America" web site:

"The thirty-third tale" from Alfred Hauge's Cleng Peerson (referenced below). This "tale" describes the sailing of the Restoration and those on board.

"Cleng Peerson" by Kenneth O. Bjork from They came from Norway: A sesquicentennial review, Erik J. Friis, Ed., 1975.

"Norwegian migration to America" by Einar Haugen, NAHA, Northfield, Minn., vol. 18, 1954. Lengthy scholarly article reviewing "incitements" to emigrate, the sloop Restauration, & the subsequent century of migration & settlement.

Chapter "III. Cleng Peerson" from Hjalmar Rued Holand's Norwegians in America: The Last Migration, 1978, has been made available at "The Promise of America" web site (good overview of reasons for emigration, the voyage of the Restoration, early Slooper settlements and the role played by Cleng Peerson).

Quotes regarding Cleng Peerson and the Sloopers at:
     http://www.lawzone.com/half-nor/peerson.htm

Quaker Life article by Wilmer Tjossem entitled, "Quaker Sloopers: First Norwegian Immigrants to the United States" at:
     http://www.fum.org/QL/issues/0011/sloopers.htm

A NAHA-Norge article, "The Significance of Norwegian Quakers for the Early Emigration from Norway to America. How true are the traditional views?" written by Hans Eirik Aarek (Stavanger, Norway, Quaker & University Professor),  Norwegian-American Essays 2001, Vol. 10, pp. 87-112, and provided on line by "The Promise of America" web site.

Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) publications made available online:

·         The Norwegian Quakers of 1825 - Vol. I

·         Haugeans, Rappites, and the Emigration of 1825 - Vol. XXIX

·         A Little More Light on the Kendall Colony - Vol. XVIII

·         Still More Light on the Kendall Colony: A Unique Slooper Letter - Vol. XX

·         The Kendall Settlement Survived - Vol. XXVII

·         Lars and Martha Larson: "We Do What We Can for Them" - Vol. XXV

·         Health Conditions and the Practice of Medicine Among the Early Norwegian Settlers, 1825-1865 - Vol. I

·         Four Immigrant Shiploads of 1836 and 1837 - Vol. II

·         The Sugar Creek Settlement in Iowa - Vol. IX

·         Norwegian Forerunners Among the Early Mormons - Vol. XIX

·         Cleng Peerson and the Communitarian Background of Norwegian Immigration - Vol. XXI

 

The Kendall County, Illinois, RootsWeb/USGenWeb Project web site offers several relevant articles. While containing some errors, they provide interesting views of the Sloopers that settled in Illinois.

·         "Early Norwegian Immigration" by Mrs. Orrie Dunbar, 1925

·         "The First Colony of Norwegian Immigrants" by A. E. Strand

·         "The 'Sloopers' Who Came to Illinois" by A. E. Strand

 

The Norwegian Emigration to USA - 175 years site presented by Digitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway) provides several pages with some material related to early emigration from Norway and the sloop Restauration.

 

"Iowa's First Norwegian Immigrants" - A Lee Co./RootsWeb page with references to Jacob Anderson Slogvig, his brother Knud and cousin Cleng, as well as "Mrs. Thorstein T. Rue and her sons" which would include the future "Snowshoe Thompson" of California Sierra fame.

 

Notes on Keith's great great granduncle, Anders Anderson Slogvik (1812-1891), from interview with Kåre Slogvik, 12/26/2001. Kåre Slogvik (b. 1935) is a 1st cousin to our dear friend Einar Slogvik. Kåre lives on Bruk 1 of the Slogvik farm where he was raised and where he has farmed for many years.  The Slogvik farm is in Tysvær kommune, Rogaland fylke, Norway.

 

The Norwegian Slooper Society of America, an informational page.

 

"Keith's Slooper Ancestors" page - Written in 2000; now somewhat outdated and redundant.

 

"Snowshoe Thompson & the Slogvik Brothers, Jacob & Knud; Did Their Paths Ever Cross?" by Keith Wheeler, 7 February 2004 .

 

"The Unspoken Speech" - a dedication speech given (& spoken) by Gunleif Seldal of Klepp, Norway, at the Slooper bautastein dedication at the Tulocay Cemetery, Napa, California, on May 15, 2004.


     The following books are recommended:

THE SLOOPERS, THEIR ANCESTRY AND POSTERITY, The Story of the People on the Norwegian Mayflower -- The Sloop, "Restoration," by J. Hart Rosdail, published by The Norwegian Slooper Society of America, 1961. printed by Photopress, Inc., Broadview IL. (difficult to find, but often available through interlibrary loan; reprints are available through the Slooper Society). Authoritative account of the Slooper families, their ancestors and descendants; the account of their leaving Norway, the voyage and settling in the U.S. See online information about this important Slooper book and how to obtain a copy.

THE PROMISE OF AMERICA, A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE,
The History of the Norwegian-American People, 1984, by the noted historian and professor, Odd S. Lovoll (now available in expanded 1999 Revised Edition).

THE PROMISE FULFILLED, A PORTRAIT OF NORWEGIAN AMERICANS TODAY, 1998, also by Odd S. Lovoll.
Continues the story begun in The Promise of America.

BLOW, SILVER WIND; A STORY OF NORWEGIAN IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA, 1978, by Erik Bye with Postscript by Eric Sevareid, illustrations by Karl Erik Harr. Beautifully illustrated collection of manuscripts written in 1974-75 in connection with the 150th anniversary of organized Norwegian immigration to America.

BETWEEN ROCKS AND HARD PLACES, 1993, by Ann Urness Gesme. "Traditions, customs, and conditions in Norway during the 1800s, emigration from Norway, the immigrant community in America."

THE NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA, Rev. Ed., 1991, by Percie V. Hillbrand. 
A small book that traces  the impact some Norwegians have had on America - from Vikings to Knute Rockne & Eric Sevareid
; the Slooper story is summarized; Cleng Peerson & "Knud Andersen Slogvig" are mentioned individually.  

     The following two historical novels are also highly recommended:

THE BECKONING, A STORY OF LOVE, 1989, by Nora Stangeland McNab. "Part fact, part fiction, the story opens another window on those 'sloopers' who came seeking freedom to worship in their Quaker ways."

CLENG PEERSON, Vols. I & II, 1975, by Alfred Hauge, translated by Erik J. Friis
, Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1975 (originally published in 3 volumes by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo).  Fictionalized biography of the noted "advance scout" of the Sloopers, Cleng Peerson, who would later be called the "father of Norwegian emigration."  This traces the life of this prominent person, the conditions in Norway leading up to the "Sloopers" leaving in 1825, plus the early Norwegian-American settlements. (See more authoritative book on Cleng by Hauge below.)

Another more recent fictionalized account of the Sloopers is Kenneth Clare's Intrepid Sloopers published by Xlibris Corporation in 2005. This is strictly a "novel" which is often less factual than the novels mentioned directly above.

     The novels of the famous Norwegian author Knut Hamsun are highly recommended for general background of earlier life in Norway. 
Our 2 favorites are: 
GROWTH OF THE SOIL      &      WAYFARERS
 


The following books & articles also contain varying amounts of relevant information regarding the Sloopers and/or Jacob Anderson Slogvik & his family:

Aarek, Hans Eirik.  “The Significance of Norwegian Quakers for Early Emigration from Norway to America : How True Are the Traditional Views,” in Norwegian-American Essays 2002 (Vol. XI); The Norwegian-American Historical Association ( NAHA Norge), pp. 87-112

Anderson, Rasmus B..  "'Restaurationen' -- the Norse Mayflower,"  AMERICAN SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW, Vol. 13., pp. 348-360. (Copy of original from Washoe Co. Library, Reno, NV; furnished by Bob Westberg.).  January 1925.

Anderson, Rasmus B..  The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration, (1821 - 1840), Its Causes and Results.    Madison, WI: Published by the author, 1895.  (This is a very difficult to find, out-of-print book, but it was transcribed by Neil Hofland of Santa Monica and posted in many installments to the Internet Norway List.  These postings were gathered together from the List Archives and made available in a zipped file format by Debbie Chan of Winnipeg, Canada, in Feb. 2000.)  Now available online via Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=AJ4hAAAAMAAJ

Benson, Ethel.  Leland "66"; A  History of Leland, Illinois.  Waterman, IL: Waterman Press, Inc., 1974.  (Part III, Chapter 5, "Norwegian Immigrants - Newcomers," starting on page 56, includes an overview of Cleng Peerson and the Sloopers in their role in early immigration history and the settlement of this part of the country; Knut Slogvik is mentioned.)

Blegen, Theodore C..  Norwegian Migration to America 1825-1860.  New York: Haskell House Pub., 1969.  

Blegen, Theodore C..  "CLENG PEERSON AND NORWEGIAN IMMIGRATION".  in The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. VII, No. 4, March 1941, pp. 303-331, published by Mississippi Valley Historical Association.  Now available online via Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=scMLAAAAIAAJ

Blegen, Theodore C. (intro, notes & translation by).  "OLE RYNNING'S TRUE ACCOUNT OF AMERICA".  in Minnesota History Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 4, November 1917, pp. 221-294, published by Minnesota Historical Society Now available online via Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=ncwUAAAAYAAJ

Bye, Eric.  Blow, Silver Wind: A Story of Norwegian Immigration to America. Minneapolis, MN: Norwegian American Cultural Institute, 1978; with a Postscript by Eric Sevareid; Illustrations by Karl Erik Harr. 

Clausen, C. A. [translator].  A Chronicler of Immigrant Life: Svein Nilsson's Articles in Billed-Magazin, 1868-1870 Northfield, MN: The Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1982.

Dybdal-Holthe, Nils.  Tysvær, Gard og ætt 2, Tysvær Sokn (Vol. 2 of "Tysvær Bygdebok" or local history book for "farms and families" for Tysvær subparish, Tysvær kommune, Rogaland county, Norway).  Stavanger, Norway: Tysvær Kommune - Dreyer Bok, 1990.   

Field, Homer H. and Reed, Hon. Joseph R..  History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907; Also Some Biographical Sketches of Some Prominent Citizens of the County, Vol. I.  Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1907. 

Flom, George T.  A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States; From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848.  Iowa City, IA: Privately Printed, 1909; Facsimile Reprint by Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, 1992. 

Hambro, C. J.  Amerikaferd; Av Emigrasjonens historie. (Loosely translated: "The American Journey; On the Emigration's History.")  Oslo, Norway: published by Johan Grundt Tanum, 1935.  Text in Norwegian; 96 pages; 28+ pages of black & white photos & illustrations.

Hauge, Alfred.  Cleng Peerson, Volume 1 & 2, Translated from the Norwegian by Erik J. Friis. (Historical novel/fictionalized biography originally published in 3 volumes by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo.).  Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1975.

Hauge, Alfred.  The True Saga of Cleng Peerson, Translated from the Norwegian by Prof. John Winstock & Dr. Turid Sverre. (Much more historically accurate than Hauge's novel cited above.) Published in Norwegian as "Sannferdig Saga om Cleng Peerson" in 1981, Stavanger, Norway; English translation published by The Norwegian Society of Texas, Dallas, TX, in 1982.

Hedberg, Blaine.  "The Sloopers of 1825; What Genealogical Research Has Uncovered about Some of the First Nineteenth-Century Norwegian Immigrants to America," excellent article in Vesterheim; A Publication of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Vol. 2, Nor. 2, 2004, pp. 5-13.

Holand, Hjalmar Rued. History of the Norwegian Settlements: A translated and expanded version of the 1908 De Norske Settlementers Historie and the 1930 Den Siste Folkevandring Sagastubber fra Nybyggerlivet i America. Translated by Malcom Rosholt & Helmer M. Blegen. Decorah, Iowa: published by Astri My Astri Publishing, 2006.  Chapters 3, 4 & 5 are most relevant to the "Slooper" story.

Langhelle, Svein Ivar.  Tysvær, Slik levde dei 9 - Frå 1820 til 1920 (Vol. 9 of Tysvær local history), Stavanger, Norway: Tysvær Kommune - Dreyer Bok, 1997. (See a small section from this book entitled, "History of Early Quaker activity in Tysvær kommune," translated to English and made available on-line & cited above.)

Lovoll, Odd S., Editor. Nordics in America; The Future of Their Past. Northfield, MN: The Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1993. (Recommend chapters by J. Bodnar, J.R. Christianson, L. Hustvedt & O.S. Lovoll.)

Marsh, Steve. "Pilgrims; To Escape Religious Oppression, They Set Sail for the New World - From Stavanger, Norway" (interviews with 3 prominent historians, O. Lovoll, D. Mauk & C. Chrislock, regarding the Sloopers), in Viking (magazine for the members of Sons of Norway), Minneapolis, MN; Vol. 97, No. 6, June/July, pp. 18-22

McNab, Nora Stangeland.  "The First Norwegian Immigration," in Viking (magazine for the members of Sons of Norway), Minneapolis, MN; August 1988, pp. 300-302. (This well written summary article appeared in the Viking magazine just one year prior to the publication of her The Beckoning book mentioned above.)

Naeseth, Gerhard B..  Norwegian Immigrants to the United States; A Biographical Directory, 1825-1850; Volume One 1825-1843.  Madison, WI: 1993 (Reprinted 2008 by the Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library). 

Nag, Martin.  Ryfylke-kvekerne! Utvandring! Essays og myter. Stavanger, Norway; Kveldsbel-eika; 2000. (In Norwegian only related to Quakers from the Ryfylke area of Rogaland and emigration essays and myths.)

Nodtvedt, Magnus.  Rebirth of Norway ’s Peasantry; Folk Leader Hans Nielsen Hauge.  Tacoma , WA : Pacific Lutheran University Press, 1965.

Norlie, Olaf Morgan.  History of the Norwegian People in America. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1925 (Heritage Books Reprint, 1999).

Norse-American Centennial 1825-1925.  Souvenir booklet published for the Norse-American Centennial held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1925. The centennial celebrated one hundred years of Norwegian immigration to America. Book gives an overview of that immigration and features noted Norwegian-Americans. There is also information of churches, schools, etc. Oversized, soft cover binding, 96 pages, nicely illustrated.

Qualey, Carlton C.  Norwegian Settlement in the United States.  Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1938.

Qualey, Carlton C.  The Fox River Norwegian Settlement. On Occasion of the Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the first permanent Norwegian Settlement in the United States at Norway and Ottawa, Illinois, June 22, 23 and 24, 1934.  Reprint from The July, 1934, Quarterly Journal of The Illinois State Historical Society, 1934.

Semmingsen, Ingrid.  Norway to America; A History of the Migration, Translated by Einar Haugen, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1978.  

Seversike, Lester, Ed.  The Prairie Lands of the Sloopers; The Fox Valley Norwegian-American Sesquicentennial 1825-1975; The Sloopers, Their Communities, and Neighbors; A Souvenir BookletOttawa, IL: Printed by Sigma Press, Inc., 1975.  Souvenir booklet of the "150th anniversary of Norwegians coming to America," created in commemoration of the visit of His Majesty King Olaf V's visit to the communities of Norway, Stavanger & Ottawa, Illinois in 1975.

Strand, A. E. (compiled & edited by)  A History of the Norwegians of Illinois: A Concise Record of the Struggles and Achievements of the Early Settlers, Together with a Narrative of What is Now Being Done by the Norwegian-Americans of Illinois in the Development of Their Adopted County.  Chicago: John Anderson Publishing Company, 1905.  [This long out of print and out of copyright book is available online in several formats (e.g., pdf, DjVu, text, FTP) though Internet Archive (www.archive.org) & University of Illinois:  http://www.archive.org/details/historyofnorwegi00stra ]

Tysvær historielag.  Vestover! Gløtt frå utvandringa frå Tysvær til Amerika; Årsskrift (publication year) 1993, Tysvær historielag. (A Tysvær Historical Society publication; in Norwegian only.)

Tysvær kommune's 9 volume Bygdebøkene for Tysvær (plus a 10th volume photo album) makes available detail farm and family history information in the first 7 volumes, volume 8 & 9 present more general area history.  Available in Norwegian only for the serious researcher. Detail information (in Norwegian only) on these books available online at the kommune's bygdebøker site.

Østrem, Nils Olav.  "Cleng Peerson, The Great Narrator; A Leader Among Norway's Early Emigrants, Peerson Told the Tale of America with Dramatic Effect"  in Viking (magazine for the members of Sons of Norway), Minneapolis, MN; Vol. 97, No. 6, June/July, pp. 24-27, 55.


Intro-Index   Background   The Sloop   The Project   Time Line   Endorsements   Maps   Photos   We Did It!

To WheelerFolk.org

Hit Counter visitors since 21 Dec. 2003